HYDRAA Tells High Court It Is Not Interfering With Kukatpally Land
The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has informed a vacation bench of the Telangana High Court that it is not interfering with a 13.17-acre land parcel located in Kukatpally, Hyderabad, which is currently in the possession of real estate firm NVN Constructions Pvt Ltd.
During a court hearing on Thursday, counsels representing HYDRAA submitted a written statement to the court, asserting that the agency has not violated any judicial orders and is no longer interfering with the disputed property in Kukatpally.
The legal conflict began when HYDRAA officials carried out a demolition drive at the site. The agency claimed that the land parcel was part of a waterbody. During the drive, officials demolished the compound wall, destroyed security guard rooms, disconnected the electricity supply, and caused damage to the machinery and equipment present on the site.
Following the demolition, NVN Constructions Pvt Ltd approached the High Court and filed a contempt case against the agency's actions. On May 29, the High Court issued interim directions instructing HYDRAA and other involved government agencies to restore the Kukatpally site to its original form. This mandate included the reconstruction of all the demolished structures.
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka further ruled that if the government agencies failed to initiate the reconstruction works, the petitioner, NVN Constructions Pvt Ltd, was authorized to undertake the reconstruction themselves. The court ruled that the firm could subsequently recover all associated expenses directly from the government agencies.
During Thursday's proceedings, Justice Bheemapaka took serious note of the situation, highlighting that the officials had executed the demolitions in direct violation of previous High Court orders. The judge pointed out that the demolition work also contradicted the government's own prior undertaking, which had acknowledged that the site did not fall within any waterbody and was instead a private patta property.
The Telangana High Court has scheduled the next hearing for June 8 to further consider the matter.
